Brake attachment for sleds.



No. 783,467. PATENTEDPEB. 28,1905.

G. P. SAMPSON. BRAKE ATTACHMENT FOR SLEDS.

APPLICATION FILED MAR. 24. 1904. RENEWED JAN. 10, 1905.

Wit ness es Q Inventor 49 W Patented February 28, 1905.

PATENT OFFICE.

GEORGE P. SAMPSON, OF KELLOGG, IOWA.

BRAKE ATTACHMENT FOR SLEDS.

SPECIFICATION formingpart of Letters Patent No. 783,467, dated February 28, 1905. Application filed March 24, 1904. Renewed January 10, 1905. Serial No, 240,443.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, GEORGE P. SAMPSON, a citizen of the United States, residing at Kellogg, in the county of Jasper and State of Iowa, have invented a certain new and useful Brake Attachment for Sleds, of which the following is a specification.

The objects of my invention are to provide a device that may be used in the nature of an attachment and that may be quickly and easily applied to a sled and connected with the brakelever of a sled-body in such a manner that a manipulation of the brake in one direction will force pointed projections into the snow or ice surface at the sides of the runners to thereby retard or stop the movements of the sled, and the movement of the brake-lever in an opposite direction will operate to elevate the said projections from the surface of the ice or snow and to provide means for automatically elevating the projections, so that if the vehicle-body, with the brake-lever, is removed the projections will not retard the sled.

My invention consists in certain details in the construction, arrangement, and combination of the various parts of the device whereby the objects contemplated are attained, as hereinafter more fully set forth, pointed out in my claim, and illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in which- Figure 1 showsa side elevation of a complete sled with a sled-box mounted thereon and my improved brake attachment applied thereto, and Fig. 2 shows a perspective view of the rear set of the sled-runners with my attachment applied.

Referring to the accompanying drawings, I have used the reference-numeral to indicate the front sled-runner, 11 the sled-box, 12 the brake-lever fulcrumed to the sled-box and provided with a spring-actuated pawl 13, designed to engage a sector 14, so that the brakelever may be firmly fixed in any position in which it may be placed relative to the sector. The reference-numeral 15 indicates the frame of the rear sled provided with runners 16 and a bolster 17 at its top, said bolster having the standards 18 thereon to receive the sled-box between them.

Attached to the front of the bolster 17 are the bearing-boxes 19, in which the shaft 20 is rotatably mounted. The said shaft 20 projects a slight distance beyond the ends of the bolster. On one end of the shaft 20 I have fixed a lever the upper end of which is indicated as 21 and the lower end 21, and I have connected a brake-rod 23 with the brake-lever 12 at one end and adjustably connected with the upper endof the lever 21 by being passed through any of the openings 22 in the lever 21. On the opposite end of the shaft 20 is a lever 25, fixed to the shaft and extended downwardly and forwardly. On each of the sled-runners 16 is a metal bracket 26, and fulcrumed between each of the brackets 26 and the adjacent side of the sled-runners is a lever 27, having its rear end pointed and curved downwardly at 28. A link 29 is pivotally connected at its lower end with the central portion of each of the levers 27 by means of the pin 30, and the upper end of the link is bifurcated and provided with a series of openings 31, designed to receive a pin 32, which passes through it and through the lower ends of levers 21 and 25, thus providing an adjustable pivotal connection between the levers 21 and and the links 29. An arm 33 is fixed to the shaft 20 and projects downwardly and forwardly, and a contractile coil-spring 34 is attached thereto and to a part of the sled-frame in front. Said spring normally holds the levers 27 elevated.

In practical use the sled-box is usually provided with a brake-lever, because the sled-box is usually taken from a wagon which is provided with a brake. To connect my attachment with a sled, it is only necessary to secure the bearings 19 to the bolster 17 and then secure the brackets 26 to the sides of the runners. Then the brake-rod 23 is connected with the upper end of lever 21, and the levers 21 and 25 are connected with the links 29 by means of the pins 32. This obviously may be done quickly and easily. The brake-lever 12 is set in its normal position and the links 29 are adjusted relative to the levers 21 and 25, so that the points 28 will stand just a short distance above the lower edges of the runners, so that a-forward movement of the brakelever will force the lower ends of the levers 21 and 25 rearwardly. The links 29 are usually set at a considerable forward incline, as shown in the drawings, so that this rearward movement of the levers 21 and 25 will operate to force the points 28 downwardly into the snow or ice surface, thus forming an effectual brake which will prevent the runners from slipping over the snow or ice. If it is desired to project the points 28 a comparatively great distance into the snow or ice, the pins 32 are set in the upper notches of the links 29, thus giving a greater movement to the levers 27, or if traveling upon hard ice the'pins 32 may set in the lower opening of the links 29, thus giving a less movement to the levers 27. Obviously all of the parts of the invention may be constructed of cheap material that may be readily obtained in any blacksmith-shop and will be simple and easily applied and inexpensive in construction. When the sled is used without a box, the levers 27 are automatically held up out of engagement with the snow or ice.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim, and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States therefor, is-

The combination with a sled, having front and rear runners, each provided with a bolster and standards on the bolsters to receive a sledbody, of a rock-shaft mounted upon the side of the bolster on the rear runner and projecting beyond the ends thereof, an arm fixed to said shaft projecting upwardly and rearwardly, a brake-rod adjustably secured to said arm, two levers fixed to the ends of the shaft and projected downwardly and forwardly. links adjustably secured to the lower ends of the levers extending downwardly and rearwardly, brackets secured to the outer faces of the runners, levers pivoted at their front ends between said brackets and runners and having their rear ends curved downwardly and pointed, the said links pivoted to the central portions of said levers, an arm fixed to the shaft between its ends projected downwardly and forwardly and a contractible coil-spring fixed to the arm and connected to the rear sled-runner in front of the shaft, substantially as and for the purposes stated.

GEORGE P. SAMPSON.

Vitnesses:

J. RALPH ORWIG, V. R. LANE. 

